


Somewhere Only We Know

by Geronimoandbemagnificent



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur - Freeform, Billie Piper - Freeform, Bradley James - Freeform, Colin Morgan - Freeform, David Tennant - Freeform, M/M, Mentioned Knights, Mentioned Queen Guinevere, Merlin - Freeform, Merlin/Arthur - Freeform, catherine tate lauren, doctor who - Freeform, mentioned Jack Harkness, mentioned King Uthur, mentioned Rose Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 06:09:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1028175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geronimoandbemagnificent/pseuds/Geronimoandbemagnificent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin/Doctor Who crossover for "Midnight". Spoilers for "The Diamond of the Day"!</p><p>What if Jethro was actually Merlin? How would that change the story?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere Only We Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Burning_Up_A_Sun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Up_A_Sun/gifts).



Merlin dragged Arthur by the shoulders to the lake about a quarter mile away. The chain mail from Arthur's uniform froze against Merlin's fingers, but he pressed on. He had to get Arthur Pendragon to Avalon before it was too late.

  
"I will not let you die," Merlin said, but in his heart he knew otherwise. Arthur had been wounded in battle, stabbed by a sword that was forged in a dragon's breath and a shard broken off, making it impossible for Merlin to heal Arthur with magic and too close to his heart for Gaius to surgically remove it. Arthur had fallen on top of Merlin, losing strength and the will to live quickly.

"Merlin. Merlin. Please. Just-just-just hold me. Please," Arthur said. Merlin obeyed tentatively, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist, hugging him tightly.

"I'm not going to make it," Arthur murmured quietly. Merlin shifted so he could see Arthur's face.

"But-" Merlin started, tears misting his eyes.

"I can't. You know I can't. And it's time." Arthur said quietly. Merlin pushed back tears.

"But we're so close! You can be saved!" Merlin said, though making no movement to stand up.

"I want to...to tell you something I haven't told you before. Th-thank you." Arthur said before shutting his eyes for the final time.

“Arthur. Arthur please! Please wake up! Please!" Merlin said, tears streaming down his face onto the blond man under him. "I love you." He whispered, pressing a kiss to the man's hair......

  
Merlin stirred, gently exiting his dream setting. "JETHRO! WAKE UP! We'll be late for the train to Midnight!" A woman's voice called. Merlin raised his head from the pillow, taking in the scenery, and registering the shrill voice of his friend calling him. Jethro. He’ll never get used to that name. Merlin raised a hand to his face to push the sleep out of his eyes as he clambered out of bed, realizing he'd been crying in his sleep as there were patches of damp skin under his eyes. He wiped tears away from his face, rushing to get ready, pushing how real the dream felt out of his mind.

  
After Arthur died, Merlin had stayed in Camelot until he knew for certain Arthur wasn't coming back. For three thousand years, he waited at the lake of Avalon. He even saw a Roman soldier drag an ungodly huge box. He offered his help, but was denied. The soldier said he was waiting for the Doctor.

  
Whatever that meant.

When Merlin couldn't bear to be in Camelot-or it's new name, the United Kingdom- he moved. Far away into the stars. He adopted the name Jethro from a book he once read and used a youth potion to keep himself young. “Jethro” looked nothing like what Merlin once did. “Jethro” wore black skinny jeans, black converse, a black t-shirt and countless black wristbands with spikes on them.

"How the Hell did you guys get in my flat," Merlin asked, walking downstairs. Laura rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Key," She said, holding a silver key up. Merlin groaned.

"We have to go! It's a long drive and you know how crowded the U-45 gets in the morning!" Her boyfriend Joseph said, pushing Merlin out the door before he could even get his wallet.

  
It was a very, very long car ride to the train station; too much bad music blasting and too many Medieval Times restaurants passed on the way, where the jousting was fake and everyone walked away unharmed after the show. Merlin sank down in his seat, hoping that the seatbelt would strangle him as Laura and Joseph recalled every time they dragged Merlin somewhere on their vacation days.

The thought of his friends trying to cheer him up was very nice. They knew that “Jethro” had lost a friend that he had loved dearly. But putting the action to use was more of a nuisance than a help.

  
~~~~~~

"Three adults." Laura said to the man at the ticket booth. Merlin groaned.

"I still don't understand why I have to go. It's a four hour ride!" Merlin complained as they walked into the station and visitor center. They walked by a sunbathing woman with fiery red hair, talking on the phone.

"No Doctor, I'm staying here and sunbathing. Go see your wall of Sapphires." Merlin stopped in his tracks when he heard the woman say 'Doctor'.

He immediately flashed back of the Roman soldier dragging the mysterious box that was ten times larger than he, refusing medical help who he said he was waiting for the Doctor.

‘Could it be the same man?’ Merlin asked himself.

"--had time off and you kept talking about Arthur and we- Jethro!" Laura said, realizing that the man wasn't next to her.

"C'mon mate! The train is about to leave!" Merlin shook his head, pushing the soldier and the Doctor out of his mind.  
He reluctantly walked over to Joseph and Laura when he saw the back of a man's head. He had dirty blond hair and a blue-grey sweatshirt on. It almost looked like chain mail.

"Ar-" Merlin asked himself.

"What?" Laura asked. But the man had turned around, looking nothing like Arthur Pendragon. Merlin sighed.

"Nothing. It was nothing." He said quietly, fiddling with his black spiked wristband.

"Well come on then!" Joseph said. Laura went in after Merlin to make sure he didn't run off. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I'm sitting over here." Merlin said, once they entered the train. Laura sighed.

"Jethro come on. Don't do this! There's an extra seat right here!" Joseph said.

"I'm sitting here."

"He won't sit with us but he had no problem making us pay," Joseph said. Merlin clamped his lips together, holding back a string of profanities mixed in with something about forgetting his wallet because they had him wake up in such a rush. A woman came up with a grin and a huge cart. A strange looking man in a brown suit squeezed past the woman, glanced at Jethro.

"Here are your complimentary--"

"Just. Just the headphones. Please." Merlin interrupted the woman. She gave him the headphones and with a nod of thanks from the man, he immediately plugged in, blasting rock music.

"Great. We got here early." Merlin said, looking at his watch. He leaned his head back against the cold wall of the train, subconsciously started to pick at his jet black painted fingernails and shut his eyes, luring himself back into the dream he had earlier today......

Merlin screamed at the summer sky for Kilgarrah. The great dragon flew down and saw the man holding onto the knight so tight his knuckles turned white. Merlin sniffed, tears flowing like a river down his cheeks.

"Please, help me." Merlin begged, his voice shaky. The dragon shook his head solemnly. "I can't lose him! He's my friend!"

"I apologize Emrys. The great King Pendragon is dead. There is nothing I can do." He said. Merlin let out a shaky sob.

"I've failed my destiny." Merlin said, voice wavering. The dragon shook his head.

"Arthur Pendragon is the Once and Future King. When Camelot needs his help, he will retire. But for now, he rests in Avalon. It has been a pleasure, Emrys. Goodbye." The dragon said before extending his wings and flew into the sunset.

Merlin stood up, not even bothering to wipe his tears away. He laid the man down and put together a boat magically. He dragged Arthur to the boat and laid him down.

"There was so much I wish I could've said to you. Um, you were one of the greatest friends I could've had, and there was so much I wish..... So much I'd wanted to tell you. If I'd only gotten you there faster, if I hadn't fucked up, this could've gone so much better. It should be me in your place."

Merlin pushed the boat out to the bay. "Promise me you'll come back. Please. Don't be, dead." Merlin lit the boat on fire, the best ritual he could think of performing alone. He threw Arthur's sword in the water, and a hand caught it. Merlin sank to the ground, buried his face in his hands and cried.....

Merlin jerked himself awake, ripping his headphones out of his ears and turned the music off. He rested his head in his hands, letting out a sob, though it was covered by a cacophony of sounds from the bad music video and the old tv show blasting at full volume. He didn't see the strange man take an object similar to a screwdriver out of his trench coat and like magic, he turned the sound off.

"Well what are we going to do now?" Joseph asked over the attendant who was apologizing excessively. The strange man popped up out from behind his chair in the front row.

  
I guess we're going to have to talk to each other." He said with a toothy grin. Everyone quickly moved up or back a row and huddled into a group.

Except for Merlin.

There were many greetings and handshakes and "how are you?"'s . Laura and Joseph quickly started a conversation about the pool concept.

"So Jethro over there said something about a pool, and I am all dressed up-"

"Floaties, a nose plug, everything! It was a sight! He went up to a life guard and said 'wheres the pool?'"

"And he said-"

"The pool is abstract!" The couple said simultaneously. Merlin sank in his seat, mouthing every word in the story that was said, rolling his eyes as they got to the punchline and everyone laughed.

Everyone... except that strange man. He glanced over to the teen and glanced away quickly. He went back up to the first row and sat with the woman in the black pantsuit.

~~~~

Professor Hobbes led an extremely in depth lesson in the history and chemical makeup of Midnight. That was the first time Merlin looked up over the top of his chair and actually enjoyed himself. He even posed a couple questions, learning that the shield around the train only lasts six seconds, then breaks down and you are sucked out into Midnight's atmosphere. Merlin listened intently as the suited man posed a question about the sapphires.  
After the presentation, the man sat next to Merlin, almost as if he were going in a circle, talking to everyone on the train. Merlin paid no attention to the man sitting next to him. The mysterious man tugged on his ear and sighed.

"I'm rubbish at starting conversations. I'm the Doctor. Hello!" the Doctor said, wiggling his fingers. Merlin looked up and smiled halfheartedly before looking back down again. After a minute, his eyes widened and he looked up at the Doctor again.

"Jethro. I'm Jethro. Could you...no. that’s impossible." Merlin said, dismissing the thought, The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Try me." He said. Jethro nodded biting his lip.

"Well, a long, long time ago, someone was carrying a big metal cube and said that he was waiting for the Doctor. Are you....?" Merlin asked, his sentence trailing off. The Doctor smiled.

"Good, good. That means I have a future." Merlin raised an eyebrow. "No, no, well, yes that was me, but not yet. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. How long ago was this?"

"Three....thousand years ago." Merlin said quietly. The Doctor's face lit up.

"Oh! Are you a time agent as well?" The Doctor asked, immediately thinking about getting in touch with Jack Harkness to see if he knew this “Jethro”. But alas, Merlin shook his head. "Well then, who are you?"

"My name is Merlin Emrys. I am originally from the medieval times, Camelot era." He said. The Doctor gasped with delight.

"Oh Molto Bene! Before or after the King Arthur’s rule? Oh, Queen Guinevere, she was fantastic!" The Doctor said smiling. Merlin sighed, tears forming already, thinking back to the dream he had earlier on that morning. The Doctor thought about what Merlin had told him.

“Merlin...as in… Old, grumpy wizard full of knowledge? The one that led Arthur through his father’s life and to Arthur’s rule?” The Doctor asked after a moment of silence, his face lighting up as he saw the teenager nod.

"I resent that old and grumpy wizard part, but yes. I was in Camelot before, during and after some of King Arthur’s reign. I was King Arthur's manservant and his....well.....lover." He let out a shaky breath.

"During Uthur's reign, Arthur's sister Morgana wanted revenge after she found out that she was a witch. She wanted the throne before Arthur had a chance to rule. Many times she had tried to kill Arthur, and every time I had been able to save him. except once. There was a great battle between Arthur's and Morgana's soldiers. Her best friend, Mordred, st-stabbed Arthur with a s-sword forged in a dragon's flame." Tears began to stream down Merlin's face.

"I-I'd tried to get him to Avalon to save him, but by then it was to-too late. I've waited three hundred thousand years for him to come back, and he never did." Tears were falling more rapidly now. The Doctor's face fell as Merlin told him that Arthur died. "He died before I told him that I loved him. I can’t shake off this feeling that I was the one who caused his death."

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry,” The Doctor said, thinking about Rose almost getting trapped in the void, having to forgive himself and tell himself that Rose’s “death” was not his fault.

“I know how that feels.” The Doctor said after a moment of silence between them. The Doctor looked at the teen’s face, a perfect mixture of love-lost, guilt and sadness: exactly how The Doctor felt after Rose.

“My partner, her name was Rose, lovely, lovely girl. Always quick to the point. Always knew what to do. Anyway, I was traveling with her, and she was sucked into another universe entirely. I never got to tell her that I loved her, which I did, very much so." The Doctor said, Merlin sniffed.

"What are you, some sort of time traveler?" The Doctor nodded. "C-can you take me to when Arthur was stabbed? I wasn't there as myself, I could save him!" Merlin said, looking ever so hopefully at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry, but it's a fixed point in time. We would change the universe entirely and because it's still part of your time-line, you'd be breaking a hole through it, ripping entire universes apart." The Doctor said, his hearts aching as Merlin's face fell, flashing back to the time when Rose tried to save her father and aliens tried to rip the church apart to try to kill her father anyway. He even flashed back to when he was a projection of light on Bad Wolf Bay and Rose told him he loved him and...and the projection died before he could say it back.

"I...I am so--" The Doctor started.

"No really, I understand. Really, I do. I just need to be left alone right now." The Doctor nodded somberly, but got up from the chair.  
  


~~~

The next two hours were completely out of the ordinary. The train mysteriously halted in the middle of a conversation about the lost moon of Poosh. Merlin as well as the other passengers on the train were jerked forward. Merlin got a face full of the chair in front of him. Groaning as he pushed himself up, he rubbed his nose.

"Not broken," He thought to himself, ignoring the "Is everyone okay?" coming from the other passengers and the "Surely this has never happened before," from the attendant. As he chanted a spell under his breath, his sea blue eyes grew silver-gold, like they usually did when he performed a spell and….

Nothing.

They really were stuck. The Doctor ran up to the front of the train and disappeared into the control room. A few minutes later the Doctor walked out, and ran into DeeDee, who was getting Professor Hobbes a glass of water for his medication. Merlin quietly moved up a row and sat down, to listen to the conversation.

"See what I don't understand, is why would the train just stop?" Deedee asked. "Will we run out of clean air since the entire train has shut down?"

"Run out of air?!" Laura asked frantically, running her hands through her curly red hair. A commotion occurred from the people in the train.

"Ha. We've broken down." Merlin started, ignoring the glare shot from Laura. "In the middle of noWHERE."

"Jethro!" Joseph started.

"Tension cutter!" He said, though raising his hands up and backing off once he got a second, more deadly glare from Laura.

"Quiet, quiet, QUIET!!" Everyone quieted down immediately. "Mrs. DeeDee will explain what she's said to me." The Doctor said calmly.

"The train is on a loop. It will clean the air for us, so we'll never actually run out." Deedee said.

"Yeah but wha--" Laura started, but was interrupted by a loud knocking sound.

"What was that?"

"Sounds like it came from over there."

_*KNOCK*_

The occupants of the train looked to the back corner. Sky's eyes grew wide.

_*KNOCK*_

"There it is again!" Joseph said exasperated as their heads snapped up to the ceiling. Merlin, in all his years of sorcery and creatures had never heard of a creature who simply knocks. It’s always crash! bang! God forbid the creatures that make themselves known by causing explosions. The Doctor shushed everyone rapidly and walked over to the wall. He peered at the wall for a moment, then knocked twice.

 _*KNOCK KNOCK*_ was heard after a minute. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, grinning slightly.

"It's repeating the knocking." He said.

_*KNOCK KNOCK*_

"Who's there?" Merlin said with a smirk, as an attempt to cut the tension in the room. And again, nothing.

 _'Note to self: tension cutters don't work'_ Merlin thought as he stood up.

*KNOCK KNOCK* Sky's eyes grew larger as she crowded to the back corner.

"Sh-she said it'd come. It's coming for _me it's coming_ -"

_*CRASH*_

‘ _Oh. It is a “crash!” creature,’_ Merlin thought to himself as he stood up and moved toward his friends.

The lights went off and the train rocked side to side violently. The train rocking wasn't big enough for everyone to fall and roll, so they piled on top of each other when it rolled to the right, and then on the unlucky person's back when the train rolled to the left.

After what seemed like hours, the train finally stopped at an abrupt halt. Only then did it occur to Merlin that he could've tried to use magic to stop the train.

"Everyone grab a torch!" Laura said. The Doctor turned on his torch and walked over to Sky who was huddled in a ball.

"Sky?" The Doctor trod alertly over to the woman. "It's okay now. Attagirl." The Doctor helped the woman out of her position, biting his lip to keep from saying 'the monster is gone'. He didn't want to lie.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked.

"You okay?" Sky copied. The Doctor, obviously intrigued, giggled and grinned.

‘It copies…I love new things!’ The Doctor thought to himself.

"Woah! That was weird." Merlin said.

"Woah! That was weird." Sky repeated, looking at him with cold, dead eyes.

"She's copying everything you're saying!" Deedee said.

"She's copying everything you're saying!" Sky repeated.

"Make her stop!" Laura screamed.

"Make her stop!" Sky repeated.

"What is she doing?" Joseph yelled.

"What is she doing?" Sky repeated.

"Stop it!" Laura shrieked.

"Stop it!" Sky repeated.

"Everybody shut up!" The Doctor said.

"Everybody shut up!" Sky repeated. The Doctor crouched down in front of Sky.

"Now what are you?" He asked.

"Now what are you?" She repeated monotonically.

"Oh that's beautiful! You're beautiful!" The Doctor said, bouncing some.

"Oh that's beautiful! You're beautiful!" Sky repeated, gaining character in her voice.

“What do you mean ‘you’re beautiful!’ Doctor? Do you know what it is?” Hobbes asked.

“What do you mean ‘you’re beautiful!’ Doctor? Do you know what it is?” Sky repeated in the exact same character.

“No clue,” The Doctor laughed.

“No clue,” Sky repeated.

"Doctor, it seems to be learning. First it learns, then copies, then what?" Deedee asked.

"Doctor, it seems to be learning. First it learns, then copies, but then what?"

"The square root of PI is 1.772453850905516027298167483341." The Doctor said quickly.

"The square root of PI is 1.772453850905516027298167483341." Sky repeated.

"Woah. That's amazing." The Doctor said, at the same time as Sky. The lights flickered on.

"Oh my God they're in sync!" Laura shrieked and Sky whispered.

"Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS, _BANG_." The Doctor and Sky said in unison. The Doctor's eyes widened. He stood up, ushering the other passengers to the front.

"We know whatever that thing is, we have to kill it and fast." Joseph and Sky said in unison. The Doctor shook his head.

"You can't mean that. There's still a person in there! And how are we going to kill without a knife and we can't go outside?" The Doctor and Sky said in unison. Deedee scoffed.

"Not anymore. And there is actually a protective shield that lasts about six seconds." Deedee said in unison with Sky.

"Deedee-" The Doctor said in unison with Sky.

"Enough time to throw a body out." Joseph and Sky said. The Doctor gasped, eyes bulging at the thought of murder.

"You guys come on! We are not killing anyone! The rescue train will be here in an hour and then we'll be fine!" The Doctor and Sky said. Hobbes gasped.

"And release that...thing to civilization?!" He yelled with Sky, pointing at her.

"And how do you know about this? You smiled. And _laughed_." Laura asked accusingly in unison with Sky.

"You guys are overreacting." Merlin said, protecting the Doctor.

"You haven't even told us your name! Doctor. Doctor who exactly?" Hobbes asked.

"It's complicated." The Doctor said with Sky, shrugging. That's as simple as it got as far as his name was concerned.

"How are we any different from you?" Deedee asked.

"Because _I am clever_! _Now_. We won't sacrifice anybody. You hear me? We will not stoop that low!" The Doctor pleaded at the same time as Sky.

"I'd do it." Joseph said.

"Me too." Hobbes said.

"Me too. Jethro?" Laura said.

"What me? No!" Merlin said. Laura gasped.

"Oh my God! It's let Jethro go! It let ME go!" Laura said bouncing up and down.

"Sky?" The Doctor said in unison with Sky, walking back over to her. The Doctor’s mildly angry face turned into a mix of fear and confusion

"It hasn't let him go yet!" Merlin said, fear creeping in his voice.

"Why haven't you let me go?" Sky said.

"Why haven't you let me go?" The Doctor copied, his eyes widening.

"Oh, would you look at that? I'm ahead of you." Sky said with a smirk.

"Oh, would you look at that? I'm ahead of you." The Doctor copied, a look of utter fear glued to his face.

"It's transferred into him! Sky you're back!" Laura said, running over to her and hugging her tightly. Joseph, Hobbes, Deedee and the attendant followed behind. Merlin stayed. Something seemed odd about the way Sky talked. She was talking slower than she did before.

"I am! Oh it was so cold and I am so sorry for giving you a fright. Could you ever forgive me?" Sky said.

"I am. Oh it was so cold and I am so sorry for giving you a fright. Could you ever forgive me?" The Doctor copied, tears creeping in his eyes. He had no control over his body. He had trouble breathing, and it felt like he was going to pass out.

"Now we can kill him." Joseph said.

"Yes. Kill him." Sky said, walking over near the door.

"Yes. Kill him." The Doctor copied, tears streaming down his face. Merlin sank down, tears of panic streaming down his face as he was trying to make sense of what was happening over all the commotion.

"Deedee! Come on!" Laura said, grabbing an arm. Deedee grabbed the opposite leg, and Joseph grabbed the opposite shoulder.

"That's right. Molto bene. Drag him to the door and kill him." Sky said. Merin looked up and sniffed.

'That seemed familiar. Molto bene...' Merlin thought as he stared at the woman who was egging the three people who were carrying the Doctor on.

"Jethro! Come and help!" Joseph shouted. Merlin shook his head no. He wouldn't help kill someone he respected.

"Very good! Kill him! Allonsy!" Sky yelled. Merlin's eyes widened. He stood up.

"Very good. Kill him. Allonsy."

"That's not her voice. Those are his words! Listen to me! The creature is still in Sky!" Merlin pleaded, but with no avail. They were still dragging the Doctor closer and closer to the door, to his death. Merlin stood up and ran to Sky, pulling her with him to the door. Merlin opened the door, holding Sky tightly so she couldn’t move, even though she was doing a great deal of fighting back..

"Jethro, no! Please!" Laura shrieked, tears flowing down her face. She was now distracted from trying to kill the Doctor and was worried about saving her best friend. She tried to run over to him, but was pulled back by Joseph, with the reasoning “You’ll die too, and I cannot lose you both.”

"One...Two....ohgod.Three...Four...Five...for Arth--" Merlin yelled in fear as he and Sky were sucked out of the train and into the atmosphere. The Doctor was dropped to the floor.

"It's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone," The Doctor repeated breathlessly, trying not to break down. He gathered himself after a few minutes and sat up. He looked around. Merlin and Sky were nowhere to be found. All he saw was Laura burying her face into Joseph’s chest, sobbing.

"Where's?..." The Doctor asked. Laura let out a louder sob. The Doctor's face fell.

"He sacrificed himself. For us." The Doctor said.

"He was right, the alien was still in Sky." Joseph said.

"I knew it was her all along." DeeDee said, but shying away after the look of almost hatred was shot at her from the Doctor.

  
\----

Merlin woke up gently for the first time in what seemed like forever. His arms were crossed over his chest and the sun’s rays were his way of warmth. He opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was under a tree next to Lake Avalon.

"This is weird. I'm...I'm at Avalon again." Merlin murmured. He looked down, and saw his blue cravat, red shirt he stole from Arthur, his thin tan sweater, his black pants and his worn boots. Gone were his skin-tight black clothes, his thick, spiked bracelets, black nail polish and eyeliner.

"I thought I got rid of these." He said as he stood up. Merlin walked out from under the tree and looked around.

"This looks like Avalon. But that can't be... There's an intersection right over--" Merlin said, looking over to where he distinctly remembered an intersection was put in. No intersection. No road. No cars. Just trees as tall as the sky, fresh green grass and sweet smelling flowers. The subtle smell of pond water wafting through the air. Merlin spun around, soaking up the sun rays and grinning. Merlin couldn’t verbalize what he exactly felt.

He felt like he was at home. With Hunith, Arthur, Gwen and the Knights. He squinted and tried to look in the distance. There was Camelot.

"But… I've died. This can't be true. Am I in heaven?" Merlin thought to himself.

"Merlin? Is that you?" A familiar male voice came from behind. Tears grew in Merlin's eyes as he tried to shake off the voice in his head.

 _‘It’s only a dream, Merlin. You’ll turn around and he won’t be there. Just like every other time you’ve had this dream,’_ Merlin thought to himself.

"Merlin, your King is speaking to you. It's only polite if you turn and look at him. Especially since you’re his manservant," Against his better judgement, Merlin turned around to see a man who's eyes were gleaming as much as his chain mail, the King's crown perched on his head, Pendragon robe tied around his neck and a huge grin on his face standing there at the entrance to Lake Avalon. It wasn't fake.

"Ar-Arthur?" Merlin asked, tears glistening in his eyes. Arthur nodded, tears streaming down his face, smiling at Merlin. Merlin dashed over to him, tackling him onto the ground in a hug.

"It took you long enough to get here." Arthur joked, holding tightly around Merlin's waist, tears falling rapidly. Merlin laughed and cried happily into Arthur's neck. "Three thousand years without a servant is very unfortunate."

“It’s really you! I’ve missed you so much!” Merlin said, hugging Arthur tighter and tighter, as he was afraid Arthur would disappear again. Merlin noticed that the hole in his chainmail and the torn and blood stained fabric where Arthur was stabbed were now gone.

“Of course it’s really me. You’re still as daft as ever, aren’t you Merlin?” Arthur joked, pressing a kiss to the shorter man’s temple. “I missed you too,” He whispered into Merlin’s ear after a moment of silence. Merlin pulled away, positively glowing. He quickly captured Arthur's lips in a very wet kiss, as Arthur and Merlin's cheeks were both wet from crying. Arthur pulled away and grinned.

"I love you." Merlin said, grinning.

"I love you too. And I'm here okay? You’ll never be able to be rid of me again." Arthur said as he wiped Merlin’s tears away that were falling from his sparkling ocean blue eyes. He cupped Merlin’s cheek after he wiped his tears away.

"Promise?" Merlin asked, putting his hand over Arthur’s.

"I promise." Arthur said, kissing Merlin again.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated <33333 thank you!!
> 
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